They warn the public about bogus covid-19 home tests

To be tested or not for covid-19?

The medical keys 2:05

(CNN) -

 Covid-19 cases continue to rise dramatically, leading to brutally long lines at test sites and empty shelves in stores where home rapid test kits were once in stock.

Now an additional problem has arisen: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is warning about the online sale of fraudulent home tests to desperate customers.

• In the US, states are struggling to keep up with an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations and demand for testing.

"It is not a surprise that, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), fake and unauthorized home tests are popping up online as opportunistic scammers take advantage of the increase in demand, "the FTC said in a press release this week.

Coronavirus self-tests - also known as home tests or over-the-counter tests - are one of several risk reduction measures that can protect people by reducing the chances of spreading the coronavirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Diseases of the USA (CDC).

These tests can be done at home or anywhere, regardless of vaccination status or symptoms, says the CDC, and are easy to use for quick results.

However, test kits are in short supply and increasingly expensive, forcing some people to search online or anywhere to find them.

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However, buyers should beware of scammers selling fake home tests.

Increase demand for tests for covid-19 in Mexico 4:59

How to spot a fake test kit

The FTC suggests following these four steps before purchasing and using a test kit:

1. You only buy tests authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration. The FDA website has a list of more than 40 authorized home tests, some of which have age restrictions.

You can buy these tests online, in pharmacies, and in some retail stores.

2. Check the FDA's list of covid-19 fraudulent products to make sure the test kit you are about to buy, or the company you are buying it from, is not there.

3. Look at a variety of sellers and compare credible reviews from expert sources such as medical professionals or healthcare organizations before making a purchasing decision.

The FTC also advised searching the Internet for the seller of the home test kits along with words like "scam," "complaint," or "review" to catch scammers.

"Using these fake products is not only a waste of money, it increases the risk of spreading COVID-19 inadvertently or not receiving proper treatment," the FTC said.

4. If you choose to purchase a test kit online, use your credit card to dispute the charge if you discover that it is a scam.

"Using these fake products is not only a waste of money, it increases the risk of spreading COVID-19 inadvertently or not receiving proper treatment," the FTC noted.

Also, you should check if the kit you are about to buy has not expired.

The importance of getting tested

While the highly communicable omicron variant continues to increase COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the US, health experts say it is critical that Americans continue safe practices to prevent infection.

One of these practices is to get tested regularly, even when you don't feel sick or show symptoms.

• With omicron prevalence and scant testing, anyone with symptoms should assume they are positive and isolate themselves, says doctor

Unfortunately, supply can't keep up with demand, but since omicron is so much more infectious, testing will be more important than ever, according to Mara Aspinall, a professor of practice in the Arizona State University College of Health Solutions.

"We are in a very, very precarious time," Aspinall told CNN last month.

"Testing is our only exit strategy from all of this."

To date, COVID-19 has killed at least 833,987 people and infected about 58.5 million in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University.

CNN's Travis Caldwell, Jen Christensen, and Tara Subramaniam contributed to this report.

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